[efoods]An American judge on Tuesday granted asylum to a German couple who wanted to homeschool their children, bringing international attention to the debate in Germany over the rights of parents to freely educate their children.

The decision came from immigration judge Lawrence O. Burman in Memphis, Tennessee. Judge Burman said the German government violated Uwe and Hannelore Romeike’s “basic human rights,” according to the Web site of the Home School Legal Defense Association, a Virginia-based pro-homeschooling organization that represented the couple.

“Homeschoolers are a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress,” Burman was quoted as saying. “This family has a well-founded fear of persecution… therefore, they are eligible for asylum.”